Underwater electrical connector



24, 1964 LE ROY o. OLSON ETAL 3,158,420

UNDERWATER ELECTRICAL CONNECTOR Filed Dec. 24, 1963 FIG. 2

INVENTORS LE ROY O. OLSON STANLEY R. MURPHY ATTORNEY rounding atmosphere. connected insuch an atmosphere, current leakage be- United States Patent 3,153,423 UNDERWATER ELECTRHIAL CONNECTOR Le Roy 0. Glenn and Stanley Reed-Murphy,=eattle,

Wash, assignors, by mesne assignments, to the United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Navy Filed Dec. 24, 19-63, Ser. No. 333,239 1 Claim. (til. 339-36) This invention relates to :underwater electrical connectors and more particularly to underwater electrical connectors of the kind. whereby. circuitconnections may be made underwateror. in other. electrically conductive atmospheres without the danger of short'circuits or current leakage.

Electrical connectors that are designed to be used in a conductive atmosphere, such assalt water, must be capable of completelyisolatingthe conductors that have-been connected so as to prevent current leakage into the sur- If'several conductors are to be tweenthese conductors will seriously degrade the functions of. the circuits. Connectors of this type should be capable of being connected and disconnected while in the conductive atmosphere without gexposing both sides of -the circuit to the atmosphere and without introducing the conductive, atmosphere into parts of the:connect or that may beadversely atfected thereby. Such a connector must also be capable of withstanding hydrostatic pressure.

Heretofore, connectors of this type have utilized complex mechanisms to seal off theconnector from the atmosphere. In an effort ,toprevent corrosion and damage to moving parts, such as springs and sliding members, theseparts were plated with precious metals. This is an expensive expedient, however, especially where the connectorsare subject to-being lost or damaged in use. Some prior art connectors have; required considerable force to operate, due to the nature of the contacts. Inan attempt to overcome these difliculties it' has been suggested that conductive liquid, such as mercury, be used as a link in the conductive chain. Liquid mercury is difficult to handle, however, and leakage from a defective connector .utilizingsuch a liquid can, result inthe production of highly toxic oxides.

Thepresent invention avoids these shortcomings by providing a connector having a socket .in which a fibrous conductive substance is located. This substance is isolated .from the atmosphere by a resilient packing that is maintained in radial compression .to enhance its self-sealing qualities. The plug portion includes a slender needlelike member for penetrating thepacking and making con- .ductive, contact with the fibrous substance.

It isan object of this invention to provide a connector that accomplishes isolation of the circuit from the atmosphere surrounding the connector.

It is another objectofthis invention to provide a connector that will prevent current leakage when the connector is placed in a conductive atmosphere.

A further object of this invention is the provision of a connector that is especially suited for underwater operation and usage.

Another object of this invention is theprovision of a connector that has no moving .parts and is of simple and inexpensive construction.

Still another object of this invention is the provision of a connector that is relatively easy to operate and that requires only moderate mechanical pressure for such operation.

Other objects, advantages and novel features of the invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of the invention when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings wherein:

arenas Patented Nov. 24, 1964 ice , ments being connected;

-FIG. 2 shows a sectional view of the embodiment of FIG. 1 but with the elements in disconnected form; and

FIG?) shows a-sectional view of a modified embodiment of the invention in disconnected form.

-Referring to the drawings and particularly to FIGS. 1 and 2, there isshown a connector consisting of two substantially similar plug portions 11 and-12 and a socket portion 13 used to electrically connect two portions of an insulated conductor 14. Each plug portion is provided with a needle-like conductive member 16 which terminates .ina pointed end 17. This member 16 is preferably made .of a relatively strong, corrosion-resistant metal such as stainlesssteel or the like.

A .thin sheath of insulation 18 is bonded onto memberld over a substantial. portion of the length thereof, end 17 remaining free of insulation. :An end 19 of conductor 14 is connected to the other end 20 of member 16 by appropriate means, such-as-placing ends 19 and 20 in a metallic sleeve .21 andsoldering bothends thereto. This portion of the when the connector portions 11, 12 and 13 are being assembled .or disassembled. It will be noted that the sheath -ofinsulation 18 extends .well into the potted plug 11, thus insuring that all conductive elements except pointed end 17 are effectively insulated from the atmosphere.

Socket portion 13 includes a rigid .housing 26 made of a suitable nonconductivesubstance such as plastic, nylon or'the like. This. housing 26 is preferably cylindrical in radial section and is ofapproximately the same outside diameteras .plugsll and.12. Contained within housing 261is a bore 27 and a pair of counterbores 28 and 29, it being understood that the terms bore and counterbore are .usedonly in the descriptive sense and are not intended to. limit theprocess by which the housing may be fabricated.

.Contained with'bore'27 is a quantity of fibrous elec- ,-trically.conductive material 31.Whl0h may consist of packings .32. and-33 are force fits when installed within their respective counterbores and are thus subjected to inwardly directed radial pressure fromthe walls of the counterbores.

In the operation of the embodiment described above, each end of a conductor 14 to be connected is fitted with a plug portion as shown at 11 and 12. The needle-like member 16 of one of the plugs is then forced through one of the packings 32, 33 until end 17 projects into the conductive material 31 and makes electrical contact therewith. As the insulated sheath 18 of member 16 penetrates the packing, it is wiped clean thereby and a seal is maintained between the packing and the sheath so that no conductive particles will be carried through the packing by the passage of member 16 or by the force of external hydrostatic pressure. In a similar manner the member 16 of the other plug is forced through the other of the packings 32, 33 and into conductive relationship with material 31, thereby establishing a connected electrical circuit. To disconnect this circuit requires only the withdrawal of either of plugs 11 and 12 from socket 13, the packing being self-sealing due to its selected qualities and the fact that it is under radial compression.

In the embodiment of FIG. 3 is shown a socket portion 35 which differs from that of the first described embodiment in that it is intended to be permanently attached to an insulated conductor 36. In this embodiment socket 35 includes a bore 37 and counterbores 38 and 39. Counterbore 38 has disposed therein a packing 41, which packing is similar to the packings 32, 33 and is a force fit Within counterbore 38. An end of conductor 36 is stripped of insulation to provide an exposed wire portion 42 and this portion is placed in conductive relationship with a quantity of fibrous electrically conductive material 43 to be inserted in the bore, as set forth above. Material 43 is of sufficient shape and quantity so as to substantially fully occupy bore 37 when the socket is assembled. A metallic washer 44 is placed over exposed wire 42 before the material 43 is placed therearound; after both the material 43 and washer 44 are in place they are soldered to the Wire 42. Conductor 36 passes through an annular packing 45 which may be made of the same material as packings 32, 33 and 41 and which is a force fit when inserted into counterbore 39. This insures that no leakage into socket 35 can occur.

For many applications the embodiment of FIG. 3 will be satisfactory. Since only the socket 35 is fully insulated from the atmosphere when the connector is disconnected, the socket must be made the hot end of the circuit to be connected. The connector of this embodiment may be connected or disconnected While submerged without exposing the circuit to water.

If the connector is intended for many cycles of use without the risk of failure, the embodiment of FIGS. 1 and 2 is preferred. It for some reason one of packings 32, 33 were to fail, then the entire socket 13 could be discarded and another one substituted without the loss of an expensive component or of the time required to prepare and attach an end of the conductor to a socket portion. By initially connecting socket 13 to the plug bearing the hot side of the circuit while in a nonconductive atmosphere, e.g., above the surface of the water, the electrical connection can then be made or broken while underwater.

As an example of a typical connector made according to this invention, plugs 11 and 12 will have members 16 which are about /32 of an inch in diameter and which protrude about of an inch from plug 11 while packings 32, 33 and 41 may be about A of an inch in thickness. Other dimensions may be appropriately scaled.

It will be noted that precise alignment of the plug and socket prior to connection is not necessary, it being only required that end 17 penetrate the packing in the region of the bore 27 (or 37). If desired, this connector or a plurality of such connectors can be enclosed in a metal housing which would withstand tensile forces applied to the connector from external sources.

Obviously many modifications and variations of the present invention are possible in the light of the above teachings. It is therefore to be understood that within the scope of the appended claim the invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically described.

What is claimed is:

An underwater electrical connector for connecting a pair of insulated electrical conductors comprising:

a plug member;

a needle-like conductive member within said plug member and having one end thereof shaped in a point and the other end thereof connected to one of said electrical conductors;

insulating means disposed adjacent said other end of said one conductive member to render this end and the connection thereto fully isolated from an atmosphere of use;

an insulating sheath disposed on said conductive member and extending therealong from just short of said pointed end at least to said insulating means;

a socket member including a rigid non-conductive portion having a chamber disposed therein and a pair of openings into said chamber, said chamber containing a quantity of a fibrous conductive substance;

one of said openings being substantially completely filled with a resilient rubber-like substance that has selfsealing qualities;

sealing means insertable within said other opening comprising an annular gasket having a central aperture through which the other insulated conductor can pass, the external dimensions of said gasket being such that it forms a force fit in said other opening with said other insulated conductor passing therethrough; and

a rigid washer disposed within said other opening and retained therein by said gasket, said washer being soldered to said portion of said other conductor and in electrical contact with the fibrous conductive substance filling the chamber;

whereby said washer acts as a retainer to prevent said other insulated conductor from inadvertently being pulled from said socket and at the same time to serve as an electrical contact for the socket.

References {Iited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,067,024 7/13 Hall et a1. 33996 X 1,743,888 1/30 Hamister 33994 X 1,812,434 6/31 Eckstein 339 2,431,951 12/47 Mauerer 339218 2,439,589 4/48 Sundell 33996 X 2,700,141 1/55 Jones 33996 2,758,291 8/56 Richards 33994 2,839,636 6/58 Brown 33994 X 2,857,579 10/58 Scanlon 339218 X 2,858,518 10/58 Chrystie et a1 339118 X 2,935,722 5/60 Kacin 339118 FOREIGN PATENTS 3,478 1883 Great Britain. 1,013,919 5/52 France. 1,131,291 6/62 Germany.

OTHER REFERENCES Hyde: Abstract of application Serial Number 206,902, published May 20, 1952.

JOSEPH D. SEERS, Primary Examiner. 

